Ghana ‘delighted’ following removal from EU money laundering list

ACCRA, Ghana

Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo on Friday announced that his country has been removed from the EU gray list of high-risk third countries in money laundering activities.

“We are delighted that, on 7th January 2022, we received a notification from the European Commission, through the intermediary of the Commissioner for Financial Services, Financial Stability, and Capital Markets Union, Mairead McGuinness, that Ghana, after the pursuit of some rigorous reforms, has now, formally, been removed from the Grey List of high-risk third countries in money laundering activities,” Akufo-Addo said.

He was speaking at a joint news conference with Hungarian President Janos Ader, who is on a state visit to Ghana.

In May 2020, the European Commission listed Ghana and 11 other countries as having loopholes in their anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism regimes, posing a threat to the EU's financial system.

The decision meant that financial transactions from Ghana entering the EU (and vice versa) were subjected to additional scrutiny to ensure they did not escape the "deficiencies" identified for the benefit of money launderers and terrorist financiers.

The commission took similar action against Ghana in 2019.